Ex-Indianapolis officer convicted in fatal crash a free man

By Associated Press | June 11, 2017 at 12:22 pmUPDATED: June 11, 2017 at 12:25 pm

INDIANAPOLIS (AP) — A former Indianapolis police officer convicted of killing one motorcyclist and seriously injuring two others while driving drunk in his police cruiser was released from prison Sunday after serving about four years of his 16-year sentence.

David Bisard was released from the Edinburgh Correctional Facility early Sunday, the Indiana Department of Corrections said.

Bisard was on duty with a blood alcohol level of 0.19 percent — more than twice the legal limit — when his cruiser plowed into motorcycles stopped at a traffic light on the city’s East Side in 2010. The crash killed Eric Wells and seriously injured Mary Mills and Kurt Weekly.

The Indianapolis Star reports Bisard received credit for 210 days spent in jail before the start of the trial. Then, he cut his time in half with credit for good behavior. He earned a year’s worth of credits for earning an associate degree through Grace College. He also reduced his prison time by completing vocational, substance abuse and other programs.

“I don’t think any amount of time will ever satisfy us because we still live with the loss of our son,” Eric Wells’ father, Aaron, told the Star for an article published last week. “All you can do is hope that when he’s released that he never hurts or takes the life of anybody else. That’s all you can do.”

Marion County Prosecutor Terry Curry, who brought the charges against Bisard, said the former officer “had to be held accountable for what he did.”

“Serving four years in the Department of Correction for an Indianapolis police officer is pretty significant punishment,” Curry said.

Bisard does not have a published home telephone number and could not be reached for comment.